Mayor Johnson to appeal to NBA to keep Kings in Sacramento

Johnson to meet with NBA board to make pitch

UPDATED 5:27 PM PST Jan 15, 2013

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) -

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday that he will meet with the NBA's Board of Governors soon to make a direct pitch for an opportunity to assemble Sacramento-area buyers for the Kings, stopping the team's potential move to Seattle.

Johnson said he is optimistic that Sacramento can prevail in the fight, reminding a crowd of business owners gathered at the Sacramento Convention Center on Tuesday that the city was successful two years ago in its effort to keep the Kings from moving to Anaheim.

That effort too, had come with pleas to the NBA for help.

"We've been here before," Johnson said, with former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in attendance at the 15th annual State of Downtown Breakfast.

Johnson also reminded the crowd that the Bay Area nearly lost the San Francisco Giants to Tampa Bay in the 1990s.

"Because the community fought, they were able to keep their team," Johnson said about the Giants.

The mayor said NBA Commissioner David Stern has given him permission to address the NBA's Board of Governors to propose a counter offer to the reported $525 million deal brewing in Seattle by a group led by investor Chris Hansen.

Johnson said the city is in a "six-week sprint," referring to a March 1 deadline for teams to file a relocation request with the NBA.

Johnson also outlined the criteria he desires for a new ownership group -- including that at least some of the investors be based in Sacramento, and including the possibility of participation by the current owners, the Maloof family.

The Maloofs nearly left for Anaheim before putting together a deal with the NBA and Sacramento to build a railyard arena. That deal eventually collapsed.

"We want this to the final act of a saga that's went on far too long," Johnson said.

An arena deal must also be a part of the transaction, Johnson said. Recent reports indicate that the Downtown Plaza ownership group, JMA Ventures, conducted a feasibility report on an arena at the site.

Another group, which had been active in the city's most recent arena deal, released a statement in support of restarting arena talks.

"We remain committed to the mayor and the city. (We) would be more than happy to meet with a potential new owner," a spokesperson for AEG said.

All eyes have been on the mayor's efforts to keep the Kings in town after reports surfaced that the team's owners are negotiating to sell them to the Seattle group.

Johnson said two key questions were answered by this month's revelation: that the team was for sale and what the Maloofs' asking price would be.

"I felt if we knew they were going to sell the team and we had a number, then it give us a chance in our community to put our best foot forward," Johnson said.

The figure floating around the Seattle deal is $525 million, which Johnson called an "outrageous number."

Johnson also said that a deal to keep the Kings, much like it was in San Francisco, is bigger than basketball or baseball.

"It was about economic development opportunities," Johnson said, "and it was a chance to revitalize their downtown area.

"It was about economic activity on an old railyard site."

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